Larry Kristoff

Lawrence Dean Kristoff was born on November 11, 1942, in Carbondale, Illinois. His father, Tony Kristoff Jr. (1918 to 2008), was born in Red Jacket, Michigan, and worked for nearly 23 years as a carpenter in the maintenance department of Southern Illinois University before retiring to his farm. His mother was Sophia Frances "Flo" Kristoff (born Rimkus), who died in 1998. He had a brother, Eugene, and a brother, Roger, who died before their father, as well as a stepsister, Judy.

In high school in Carbondale he was best known as an All-State football player. He also wrestled, and the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association recalls that he had the unusual experience of entering the state districts as a one-man team. He won his district, placed second at sectionals and finished second in the state.

Kristoff attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which he entered on the strength of his football ability. He played football for the Salukis for two years before devoting his full attention to wrestling. He is listed by the Saluki Hall of Fame in the class of 1964.

At Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Kristoff won the NCAA College Division heavyweight national championship in 1963 and 1964 and finished second in the NCAA University Division (Division I) championships in 1963.

After college he became one of the leading heavyweights in the world. Competing for the Mayor Daley Youth Foundation club, he represented the United States from 1964 through 1971. He placed seventh in heavyweight freestyle at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and fifth at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. At the World Championships he won bronze in 1965 (Manchester) and 1967 (New Delhi) and silver in 1966 (Toledo), 1969 (Mar del Plata) and 1970 (Edmonton). He won the heavyweight freestyle gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and collected 12 senior national titles, nine in freestyle and three in Greco-Roman. The Saluki Hall of Fame credits him with 19 national championships in all.

Kristoff began coaching while still competing internationally, leading Carbondale Community High School for two seasons with a 28 and 4 record. In 1969 he was hired as head coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he started the wrestling program from scratch.

Over 30 seasons SIUE finished in the national top 10 eighteen times and won three straight NCAA Division II team championships in 1984, 1985 and 1986. His wrestlers earned 111 NCAA Division II All-America honours, including 18 individual national titles won by 12 different wrestlers, plus 11 NCAA Division I All-America honours in the era when Division II qualifiers could compete at the Division I tournament. He was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1974 and 1985.

Internationally, he served as head coach of the United States World Cup teams in 1975 and 1976, was a member of U.S. World team coaching staffs many times, and helped prepare the Illinois junior national team for many years. He retired from coaching in 1999.

Kristoff married Doris Ann Holsombeck, a native of Detroit, on June 16, 1961. They had a daughter, Dee (married to Kurt Kristoff-Litterest), and two sons, Mark and Martin "Kip" (married to Sherry). Both sons wrestled for their father at SIUE, were four-time All-Americans and national champions, and are members of the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame. The couple had seven grandchildren, Keagan, Kasey, Kassidy, Kenzie, Grace, Savana and Maxwell, and eight great-grandchildren. Grandson Max wrestled at SIUE under coach Jeremy Spates.

The family lived in Anna, Illinois. Doris Kristoff died on October 13, 2025, aged 83.

Kristoff did not leave a large public record of his personal views. Former athletes and colleagues describe a coach who built a program from scratch and kept it among the best in NCAA Division II for three decades, and who treated wrestling as a family endeavour, coaching his own sons and seeing his grandson wrestle for the program he founded. No public statements on politics or religion by Kristoff have been documented in the sources consulted.

Kristoff is remembered as one of America's all-time great heavyweight wrestlers and as the founder of SIUE wrestling. SIUE head coach Daryl Thomas said that Kristoff "touched so many lives" and that "his legacy will live on through the people he inspired and his lasting impact on SIUE wrestling and the sport." Former SIUE head coach Jeremy Spates said that his "influence on SIUE and the Southern Illinois wrestling community will be missed but never forgotten."

Gold medal, heavyweight freestyle, 1967 Pan American Games. World Championship silver medals (1966, 1969, 1970) and bronze medals (1965, 1967). NCAA College Division champion (1963, 1964); NCAA University Division runner-up (1963). NCAA Coach of the Year (1974, 1985). Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame (1976). Saluki Hall of Fame, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (1978). Lifetime Service to Wrestling, Illinois chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2001). Distinguished Member, National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2007). SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame. St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 2022.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame produced an induction video for Kristoff as a 2007 Distinguished Member, and that year he was featured on the weekly radio programme "On the Mat," hosted by the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. In 2022 he was interviewed by Bill Lee at his St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame enshrinement. Archival footage of the SIUE NCAA Division II championship teams he coached in the 1980s, including matches by his son Kip, has been shared online by former SIUE wrestlers.

Larry Kristoff died on October 31, 2026, at the age of 83, according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. SIUE Athletics announced his death on November 3, 2026. The place and cause of death have not been made public. The family announced a memorial service for December 4, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home, 301 West Spring Street, Anna, Illinois, followed by a gathering from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at Giant City Lodge. He will be laid to rest at Zion Cemetery in Carbondale.